MATERIALS | HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPOUNDS


PA66 is often preferred over PA6 because of its heat resistance, but PA6 is less costly, and supply is not an issue, the company says. “Automotive and other applications require


improved physical properties in polyamide compounds as well as improvement of HDT (heat deflection temperature) in neat PA6 to replace PA66,” Byk says (Figure 2).


Sustainable gains Compounding can make materials at the pinnacle of the polymer performance pyramid more economic to use and also more sustainable. The LehVoss Group, and its subsidiary recycling specialist WMK Plastics, offer the Luvotech eco product line, which is based on raw materials from mechanical recycling, for application with PC/ABS blends through to PEEK. LehVoss says the technology employed (it refers to it as the eco compounding eXperience, or ecX) makes it possible to produce materials with “a significantly improved CO2


balance sheet and a


reduced overall environmental impact.” Luvotech eco PEEK GF20, for example, has fewer than half the greenhouse gas emissions associated with it than a virgin compound in terms of weight of CO2


-equivalent per kg of material. Recyclate for


this product comes mostly from scrap associated with extrusion and machining of stock shape parts. LehVoss is also emphasising sustainability with the latest addition to its well-established range of


Spider chart comparison of properties of two grades of 30% glass reinforced PEEK, one using virgin resin (blue line) and one a recycled Luvotech eco from LehVoss Group (green line) Source: LehVoss


long fibre-reinforced thermoplastics (LFT). It is based on DSM’s EcoPaXX PA410, a PA that is 100% derived from renewable feedstocks. Sustainability is also an attraction in the range of high-performance compounds designed to replace metals in the field of cycle components, which the company showed as part of its K2022 display. These included high-strength materials with glass fibre and carbon fibre reinforcement; ultralight materials for consistent lightweight construction; tribologically optimised materials for minimising


Solvay’s Ryton solution to solar panel design


Solvay worked with Norwegian solar energy company Inaventa Solar to develop a new collector design using a specially-developed Ryton PPS polymer, showing the part at the K2022 exhibition last month. Inaventa Solar’s B170 panel uses Solvay’s PPS in place of metal in the thermal absorber sheet, which the development partners say provides significant benefits in terms of design flexibility, automated manufacturing, simplified handling, and lower carbon footprint. “The main reason for replacing metals with polymers in our business is linked to the goal of making solar collectors with a lower carbon footprint,” says


John Rekstad, CEO of Inaventa Solar. 48 COMPOUNDING WORLD | November 2022


According to the developers, the polymer- based system’s design flexibility also helps architects achieve a more seamless and aesthetic integration of the solar collectors into the roofs and façades of buildings, allowing them to replace other cladding components as active energy providers. A new impact-modified Ryton grade is used for the application. It is said to display a combina- tion of long-term heat resistance up to 160°C, high hydrolytic resistance and ease of processing. Inaventa Solar says it aims to industrialise and


commercialise innovative solar collector technol- ogy based on high-performing polymer materi- als. Following initial installations at buildings in Norway and other Nordic countries, the B170 will be available worldwide. � www.solvay.com � www.inaventasolar.com


www.compoundingworld.com


IMAGE: SOLVAY


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